AMD named ‘Top Pick’ in Semiconductors at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore is shifting his "Top Pick" in Semiconductors from Lam Research (LRCX) to AMD (AMD), telling investors this change "is less about near term enthusiasm for AMD," which still has some risk from cloud capex cuts in Q4, than the fact that all of the stocks in the group are "up meaningfully during a period of negative earnings revisions" and that Lam specifically is up nearly 50% in the eight weeks since the company’s earnings report. Lam remains Overweight-rated and is his preferred stock in semicaps, but "the magnitude of the rally saps our enthusiasm somewhat," Moore said. AMD has also rallied, but "remains the worst performing stock in large cap," said Moore, who has an Overweight rating and $77 price target on AMD shares.